Her Ex
by Ravenheart
Summary: Read to find out. Just taking a break from Mirror, Mirror...


Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Evangelion.  
  
Her Ex:  
  
After another bland day of work, Shinji Ikari came home to his apartment, tired as usual.   
Kicking off his shoes, he proceeded down the narrow corridor into the sparsely furnished   
living-room of the dwelling. Walking past the couch, he tossed his suit jacket onto the   
back of the seat, and walked into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he took out a half-  
eaten instant-meal, put it in his microwave, and set the device for the appropriate time   
and power to sufficiently heat his 'meal.'  
  
Once it finished, Shinji removed the carton from the microwave, walked back out of the   
kitchen, sat down on the couch he had thrown his jacket onto earlier, and turned on the   
TV. He sat there for a few minutes before settling on the news...  
  
"In other news... the UN today again reduced funding for its aging child-organization,   
NERV. 16 years ago, NERV was instrumental in defending humanity against an   
unknown threat, termed 'Angels' at the time, but shortly afterwards was involved in a   
controversy wherein the city known as Tokyo-3 was all but destroyed. Since that time,   
the organization has been primarily involved in research leading to new medical   
procedures and ... "  
  
Shinji zoned out at that point. He had heard it all before... the UN had been reducing   
funding for NERV for years now. Not that it hurt the organization much anyway... there   
was enough money flowing into that organization under the table to keep it running for   
decades. If only...  
  
'DING DONG...'  
  
...People would know better than to come by unannounced at this hour...  
  
Shinji hauled himself out of the couch he had somehow sunken into, and walked the short   
distance to the door. He opened it, prepared to give the person on the other side a piece of   
his mind when... he saw just WHO it was on the other side.  
  
There she stood same red hair, shapely curves, beautiful face... and black eye...   
  
Without saying anything, he stepped aside, motioning for her to enter. As he watched, he   
finally saw that she had a couple of suitcases with her. Taking them from her, which to   
his surprise she allowed, and followed her into the apartment.  
  
She looked terrible... her hair was dull and messy, her skin a few shades lighter than he   
remembered at her wedding, her black eye, and the fact that she hadn't said anything   
since he opened the door all screamed to Shinji that there was something VERY wrong   
here.  
  
After putting her bags down near the closet, he watched as she slumped down on the   
couch and just seemed to collapse physically right there. Cautiously, he moved up next to   
her and sat down as well, figuring that it'd be best to just let her start in her own time.  
  
One hour later...  
  
They were still sitting there, next to each other when she finally spoke...  
  
"I'm tired of all this shit, Shinji..."  
  
"Tired of what? What happened?"  
  
"Frank... remember how much I liked him?"  
  
"Enough to marry him as I recall..."  
  
That statement earned a scowl that would kill a full-grown ox.  
  
"I was wrong about him."  
  
NOW Shinji was REALLY concerned.  
  
"What did he do?"  
  
"Are you blind? LOOK at me!!" She turned to face him suddenly, moving all the stray   
hairs from her face, revealing that she actually had not only the black eye, but also a   
bruised cheek. She also pulled the sleeves of her blouse up, revealing remnants of hand-  
shaped bruises on her upper arms and forearms.  
  
To say that Shinji was appalled would have been the understatement of the century. Not   
at the ugliness of the welts she now displayed to him, but at the kind of person that would   
be capable of doing something to CAUSE such wounds... not just once, but apparently   
repeatedly.  
  
Seeing the look in his eyes, but misunderstanding its target, Asuka started smoothing her   
sleeves back down. She then turned away from Shinji, looking rather ashamed.  
  
Seeing her reaction to his stare, Shinji felt rather guilty. He moved over, and gently put   
an arm around her shoulders. A few seconds later, he could hear her beginning to sob   
lightly, but soon after that, she turned towards him and began sobbing full-force into his   
chest. Momentarily lost, it took Shinji a few moments to realize what was happening   
before he put both arms around the redhead sobbing against his chest.  
  
It was a long time before she finally quieted down. She was still gripping his shirt, but   
her rhythmic breathing and relaxed posture told Shinji that she had fallen asleep some   
time ago.  
  
Gently opening her hands, he pulled her away from his chest, and laid her down on the   
couch. He then lifted her legs onto the cushions where he had been sitting a few moments   
ago, and went to his room. After some shuffling around, he returned with a spare blanket   
and draped it over her.  
  
"Good night Asuka." Shinji whispered before returning to his room to go to bed.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------  
  
Asuka woke the next morning feeling more rested than she had in weeks. She felt the soft   
texture of the couch's upholstery, reminding her that this was not some no-name motel or   
airport terminal. She was in Shinji's apartment. He had let her stay the night without her   
even asking. He always was kind to her... even when she had treated him so badly in the   
past.  
  
Feeling kind of guilty for imposing on the boy... no, man who owned this apartment, she   
stood up, letting the blanket on top of her to fall to the floor, and walked into the kitchen.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
Shinji woke about an hour later, to the smell of breakfast coming from his kitchen. Not   
really thinking first, Shinji got up, and walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where   
he found Asuka standing in front of the stove cooking what appeared to be the beginnings   
of an omelet.  
  
Hearing someone behind her, Asuka turned to face Shinji, only to turn back around when   
she saw what he was wearing...  
  
"You mind putting some more clothes on, Shinji?"  
  
"Hmm?" Looking down at himself, he finally realized that he was wearing only his   
boxers from last night. "Oh... You never used to say anything about it when we were   
living with Misato..."  
  
"Yeah, but you DID at least wear a shirt with your boxers back then. You're almost   
naked now..."  
  
"What? You don't like seeing half-naked men?"  
  
His question got no response as Asuka zoned out, reliving some of her more painful   
recent memories.  
  
Seeing her zone out, Shinji carefully moved up next to her and put a hand on her back,   
between her shoulder blades. "You alright?"  
  
Snapped out of her reverie, Asuka looked Shinji in the face and nodded. "I haven't really   
liked that since Frank... Brings back too many bad memories..."  
  
Giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze, Shinji straightened up, and started walking   
back to his room. "I'll go change then."  
  
Now left alone, Asuka continued making breakfast and by the time that Shinji returned,   
there were two places set, each with one omelet on the plate. Before going to the table   
where Asuka was seated, Shinji went to grab his cordless phone, dialed a number, and   
walked back out into the living room giving Asuka a gesture which asked her for a   
minute.  
  
Without getting up, Asuka watched from the kitchen. She waited as Shinji got into a   
rather heated (for Shinji anyway) discussion with the person on the other end. Shortly   
after, he pressed a button on the headset and returned to the kitchen.  
  
"Sorry about that. Just had to call in and let the office know I'm not coming in today."  
  
Motioning for him to sit, Asuka started to eat he meal. After her first mouthful, she   
asked:  
  
"What do you do now? Are you still in design?"  
  
"I'm still working for the same ad company I was the last time we spoke. What about   
you? What were you doing before you came back here?"  
  
Shinji almost winced at the end of his question since it implied that she would not be   
going back, although from what she'd said and done since she arrived, he figured that   
was fairly likely.  
  
"I was... a waitress..."  
  
Shinji almost laughed at that before he saw her eyes. They were full of shame and   
embarrassment.   
  
"You? A waitress? That's hard to see. You're so much smarter than that. Couldn't you   
have gotten a job at a university or research company?"  
  
'Can't he see I'm not proud of that job?' "Of COURSE I'd have rather had a job like   
those!" The minute she finished her 'thought' she blushed as she realized the last part had   
been out loud. But he just smiled, like she'd done nothing wrong...  
  
"That's the Asuka I remember."  
  
For the first time since she'd arrived, she smiled. A REAL smile. However, almost as   
quickly as it came, it vanished, replaced by a sour look.  
  
"Frank said: 'I don't want my wife to be the primary provider for this house.' Like he felt   
it was his job to provide for me and make sure I have nothing to do but cook and clean   
for him."  
  
Shinji continued to eat for a while, looking thoughtful before...  
  
"I can't see you being stuck in a house all day doing chores. You'd go nuts in less than a   
week."  
  
That statement woke some of her old pride, just like he hoped it would. "I could so do it   
if I wanted to! I just don't like that kind of work. It doesn't suit someone with my kind of   
intellect." Again with that smile... Did he really know her so well that he could push any   
one of her buttons with just a few words and still get away with it? "What're you smiling   
at?" she half-snarled  
  
"You haven't really changed much. Despite what Frank did."  
  
She visibly deflated at the mention of his name. In an all-but-defeated tone she started:   
"Yes... Yes I have... I feel... worthless. Like... like I did after the 15th... I'm broken... I..."  
  
Shinji had had enough of her self pity... "Stop it." And she did... she just sat there with   
her head hanging low, like he would have so many years ago... It scared him that SHE   
could remind him so much of himself back then. "You're not broken..." She tried to   
interrupt, to say that she was, but he just kept going... "As much as you think you are,   
you're not. You still have the will to speak you're mind when someone offends you.   
You'll still fight to have your way... True, it takes a little more work to get that out of   
you, but it's there. He didn't break you. He couldn't break you. After coming back from   
what that Angel did to you... no one can. Believe it."  
  
She sat there a few moments, wide-eyed, digesting what he'd just said. She still didn't   
quite believe him, but she couldn't deny that there was some truth to what he said. She   
nodded slightly and returned to eating her omelet, not really wanting to talk about this   
much longer.  
  
Seeing that the discussion was over, Shinji returned to his meal as well. After they were   
finished, Shinji cleaned up, and then went back out into the living room to sit next to   
Asuka on the couch.  
  
"I never asked if I could stay here last night."  
  
"It's fine. You'll always be welcome here."  
  
She sighed hearing that... It was exactly why she had come here in the first place, she had   
known that he wouldn't turn her away.  
  
"It's just... I don't even know what I was doing to deserve what he was doing to me..."  
"I don't think you did anything. From what you've told me, I think that you were just a   
little too much for him to handle... So he tried to beat it out of you." Shinji smirked "He   
just never realized how tough you really are."  
  
She half-smiled as she shook her head at that, finally stopping with her face away from   
him.  
  
Shinji placed one of his fingers on her chin, and turned her head so he could see her face   
and winced. The bruises on her face seemed to be getting worse.  
  
"I think we should have a doctor look at these."  
  
Knowing better than to argue with this Shinji, she just nodded, and went to her suitcases   
to grab a change of clothes.  
  
"I'll be back in a sec."  
  
She disappeared into the bathroom to change, and like she said, she was back shortly   
after. Her clothes didn't match very well, but the important thing was that the long-  
sleeved top hid the older bruises on her arms.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
He nodded, and they left the apartment moments later, on their way to a local clinic,   
where Asuka could start her long journey of healing.  
  
---Not the end---  
---To be continued by YOUR imagination---  
  
I just wondered what would happen if Asuka married someone other than Shinji, who   
eventually started beating on her. The only given I had was that she WOULD leave him   
and she'd go to Shinji, the only person who, other than her ex-husband, had accepted her   
for who she was. As for the rest, I made it up as I went. I've been sick for a while now,   
and I feel like I've gotten some of the bad vibes I've been feeling lately out by writing   
this.   
  
Anyway, this fic may or may not be the beginning of a Shinji/Asuka relationship...   
personally, I don't care. I'm leaving that up to you, the readers to determine. If you want   
to write a continuation to this fic, run a draft by me first, and if I like where you went   
with it, I'll let it fly. If anyone takes me up on this, I'll tell you all now... ONLY the first   
20 entries will be considered. And only ONE of those will become the official sequel to   
this.   
  
This is not to say that it will be continued. If I don't like any of the entries, this still sits   
well as a one-shot.  
  
Anyway... R&R, Constructive criticism only please  
  
-Ravenheart 


End file.
